THE PLACE OF THE SERPENT

Table of Contents

1. A New Message Given at the Last Moment
2. Jesus Is Transfigured Before Peter, James, and John
3. Caesarea Philippi and the Place of the Serpent
4. Jesus Calls Out the Ruler of the Enemy Territory
5. The Glory Revealed in the Transfigured Christ
6. The Holy Spirit Reveals the Truth of Jesus
7. Paul’s Appeal for Unity in Romans
8. Transformation Through the Renewing of the Mind
9. Changed by Beholding the Glory of the Lord
10. The Glory and Resurrection Life Already Within Believers
11. Renew and Behold

A New Message Given at the Last Moment

Leonard begins with humor about sermon preparation. While attending Charis Bible College, he heard a preacher explain how many hours should be invested in preparing a twenty- or thirty-minute message. Leonard admits that there are times when he does not prepare conventionally because the Lord has already downloaded so much into him that he waits for the Lord to upload what He wants shared. Still, he quickly assures Anna and the congregation that he does prepare and that he had worked hard on the message originally planned for that day.

The prepared message concerned bringing thoughts into captivity, and Leonard describes it as an important message the church needs to hear. Nevertheless, it must be placed on the shelf for another day. While attending a Healing Journeys Today seminar the previous day, the Lord gave him a different message. Leonard told the Lord that he did not expect anyone at the seminar to call on him to speak. The Lord answered that the message was for the following day, while also giving him something worthwhile to share if he unexpectedly was invited to speak at the event.

The new teaching centers on a remarkably rich biblical word. Leonard emphasizes that the word appears in only three verses and that the places where it appears reveal its importance for believers.

Before reading the passage, Leonard jokes about his habit of rocking behind the podium and gives the congregation permission to tell him to stop. Even holding the podium does not keep him still. He also jokes about trying to restrain his Italian and Puerto Rican hand movements, then reminds everyone that if a Christian is not having fun, something is wrong.

Jesus Is Transfigured Before Peter, James, and John

Leonard turns to Mark 9:2-3. He jokingly calls the King James Version the only authorized translation and the version Jesus used, then immediately makes clear that he is joking. For this teaching, however, he intentionally uses the King James Version because its specific wording helps him highlight the connection among the passages.

Mark 9:2-3- “And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.”

Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a high mountain where they were apart by themselves. Leonard identifies these three as prominent leaders among the disciples. He clarifies that this James was the brother of John, one of the sons of Zebedee, rather than James the brother of Jesus.

In their presence, Jesus was transfigured. Leonard repeatedly calls attention to the word “transfigured” and asks his listeners to remember it.

The transformation affected even Jesus’ raiment, or outer clothing. His clothing shone and became whiter than any fuller on earth could make it. Leonard explains that many readers see what occurred without recognizing the significance of where it occurred. The location connects the transfiguration with another crucial declaration concerning Jesus’ identity and the building of His church.

Caesarea Philippi and the Place of the Serpent

Leonard connects the setting with the place where Jesus asked His disciples whom people said He was. The disciples offered several answers, including John the Baptist and other prophetic figures. Peter, led by revelation from God, declared that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Jesus affirmed that flesh and blood had not revealed this to Peter; the Father in heaven had. Jesus then declared that He would build His church upon this rock and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it.

Matthew 16:13-18- “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

People have long debated what Jesus meant by “this rock.” Leonard rejects the idea that Jesus meant Peter himself, while acknowledging the greatness of Peter’s confession. He argues that the fullness of the statement becomes clearer when the setting is understood. These events occurred in the region of Caesarea Philippi. Leonard explains the name as “Caesar’s city of Philip,” associated with Philip the tetrarch, a son of Herod the Great, and with the Roman Caesars. Some Caesars were treated as deities after death, while others claimed divinity during their lives.

According to the teaching, the region’s earlier name and spiritual reputation are the keys to the message. Leonard calls it Bashan and defines Bashan as “the place of the serpent.” He describes the region as ground zero, the headquarters of evil, and the high place of the serpent. This background, in Leonard’s explanation, transforms the mountain setting from a simple geographic detail into part of Jesus’ declaration of victory. Leonard takes the listeners back to Genesis 6 and its account of the sons of God seeing the daughters of men, taking wives, and producing offspring who became mighty men of old. He says this occurred before the flood and associates the sons of God with fallen heavenly beings.

Genesis 6:1-4- “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.”

Leonard notes that many speculative explanations have been offered for this event. One view he recounts is that these beings knew a promised seed was coming and attempted to corrupt human seed so that the prophecy could not be fulfilled.

Genesis 3:15- “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

Leonard does not make that speculation the center of his message. His primary point is that the area was identified with the serpent and regarded as a center of evil.

Jesus Calls Out the Ruler of the Enemy Territory

To communicate the force of the setting without naming contemporary nations and risking another removal from YouTube or Facebook, Leonard offers a “country A” and “country B” illustration.

Country A has a ruler who governs his people from his own territory. Country B represents the kingdom of God, and its leader is God incarnate, Jesus Christ. The leader of country B enters country A, walks into the other ruler’s own hometown, and announces that the ruler’s days are numbered, his reign is ending, a new power is taking control, and his defeat is imminent. Such a ruler would not welcome the announcement. He might call his guards, arrest the challenger, and have him put to death.

Leonard says this picture helps explain what was happening at Caesarea Philippi. Through Peter’s proclamation and the transfiguration, Jesus stood in what Leonard describes as the serpent’s headquarters and called him out. At the foot of the mountain, in the region associated with the place of the serpent, Jesus announced that He would build His church and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it.

Matthew 16:13-18- “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Leonard says Jesus was telling Satan, the devil, and the fallen heavenly powers that their days were numbered. He then connects the confrontation with the events that soon followed. Satan entered Judas; Judas went to the high priest and betrayed Jesus; and Jesus was arrested, beaten, bloodied, battered, and crucified. Yet the cross was God’s plan. The serpent, thinking that putting the King of kings and Lord of lords to death would secure victory, instead participated in the event through which God accomplished His purpose. Leonard summarizes the irony plainly: Satan is not so smart.

The Glory Revealed in the Transfigured Christ

With the setting established, Leonard returns to the word “transfigured.” He gives the Greek term as metamorphoō and explains it as transformation or change. The disciples first saw the human appearance of Jesus. Then the change came from within Him, allowing them to see the glory, majesty, supernatural power, and radiance already contained within Him.

Mark 9:2-3- “And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.”

The display was not only for the serpent and not only for Peter, James, and John. Leonard says it was also for believers. At the transfiguration, Jesus showed what is inside everyone who belongs to Him.

The King James word “shining,” Leonard explains, carries the sense of flashing intensely. He jokes that he intended to bring sunglasses. He compares the brightness to looking toward a powerful sun or trying to watch an eclipse without proper protection. However, the light coming from Jesus did not harm the disciples. It revealed who Jesus was and, in Leonard’s teaching, showed what would be true in believers after the resurrection.

Jesus’ body shone so intensely that even His clothing became sparkling white. Leonard asks whether sin or sickness could dwell in a body filled with that glory and answers that they could not. The transfigured Christ therefore becomes a picture believers must learn to recognize as a mirror image of their true nature in Him. As revelation, understanding, and illumination grow, believers can identify with what Jesus displayed and recognize that sickness has no rightful place in them.

Leonard captures the point with a memorable phrase: this was not merely Jesus showing off; it was Jesus showing us. He also explains “exceeding white” in terms of shared characteristics. The characteristics believers share in Christ come from the Father and from the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit. As believers identify with this reality and receive revelation concerning it, the characteristics of holiness, righteousness, perfection, sanctification, and healing are manifested. Leonard repeats “healing” several times to emphasize the practical importance of this truth.

The Holy Spirit Reveals the Truth of Jesus

Before identifying the other two appearances of the same Greek word, Leonard recalls a conversation from the previous night. Someone called him a Bible geek and asked how he discovered such connections in Scripture. Leonard’s answer was the Holy Spirit.

Jesus taught that it was important for Him to go so that the Comforter could be sent.

John 16:7- “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”

Leonard explains that the Greek idea behind “another” means another of the same kind. He connects that promise with Jesus’ assurance that He would come to His disciples.

John 14:16-18- “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”

The Spirit of truth guides believers into truth.

John 16:13- “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”

The Holy Spirit also testifies of Jesus.

John 15:26- “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:”

Leonard assures the person who questioned him that the same Holy Spirit who brings him revelation and understanding from Scripture lives in every believer. This is not a special resource reserved for a preacher. The Holy Spirit lives in them and is able to reveal Jesus to them.

Leonard then stresses the importance of what he calls the right grace filters. Scripture must be approached with Jesus at the center rather than human acts of righteousness. The believer’s righteousness, perfection, sanctification, completeness, and healing are all about Christ and what He accomplished.

Leonard repeats that it is all about Him, directing attention away from self-effort and back to Jesus.

Paul’s Appeal for Unity in Romans

Jesus shows what the new creation is and what it possesses. In the transfiguration, He displays the majesty, supernatural power, and ability contained in the new creation.

Paul, whom Leonard calls the champion of grace, then reveals the method by which that inward reality is released. Believers want the power, glory, and resurrection life of Christ to be expressed through them and to restore their mortal bodies. Paul shows how this occurs in Romans 12:1-2.

Romans 12:1-2- “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Leonard believes this passage has often been misused because the opening appeal has been poorly understood and translated. Context, he insists, is critically important.

Paul was writing to Christians in Rome whom he had not yet visited, including Jewish and Gentile believers. The same conflict seen elsewhere existed among them: Judaizers tried to place Gentile converts under the law, and Jewish converts could still regard themselves as superior to Gentiles, treating them like dogs or secondary citizens.

Leonard relates this attitude to his own former denominational pride. He once believed his denomination was the denomination and that other groups paled by comparison because only his group possessed the truth. This personal example illustrates the kind of superiority Paul was addressing between Jewish and Gentile believers. Through the earlier chapters of Romans, Paul shows both groups that neither is better than the other. Jews had the law of Moses; Gentiles did not, though they had conscience. Both were in the same condition because all had sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Now both are freely justified and made righteous through faith in Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:23-24- “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:”

Paul also uses Abraham to show that righteousness is a gift received by faith. If Abraham had been justified by works, he would have had something in which to boast, though not before God. A wage earned through work is a debt rather than grace, but righteousness is counted to the one who believes.

Romans 4:2-5- “For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

Leonard uses this argument to reinforce that the message of Romans does not suddenly shift from grace to human achievement in chapter 12. Throughout Romans, Paul also emphasizes union with Christ. Believers are united with Him in His death and resurrection and are raised to walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:4-5- “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.”

Leonard repeatedly says, “You’re one,” stressing the unity of Jew and Gentile with one another and with Christ. A brief musical interruption prompts another joke that he is finished, but he immediately continues the teaching.

Against this background, Leonard interprets “present” in Romans 12:1 as taking one’s position and standing alongside. He hears Paul begging Jewish and Gentile believers to take their positions side by side, united as one with God’s living and holy sacrifice. There is nothing they can do to earn what God has given. They can only receive it. Their reasonable response is to stand in the position God has already given them, united with Jesus Christ and with one another.

Transformation Through the Renewing of the Mind

Leonard next examines the command not to be conformed to “this world.” He argues that the Greek word here does not mean the cosmos, the entire earth and all its inhabitants, but the age.

In the context of Romans, Paul has contrasted law with grace and human works with God’s gift. Leonard therefore understands the warning as a call not to be conformed to the age or system of law, especially the effort to attain righteousness through law-keeping.

Romans 12:1-2- “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

The word translated “transformed” is the same Greek word Leonard highlighted in the account of Jesus’ transfiguration.

Jesus shows what the metamorphosis looks like and what believers carry within their human bodies. Paul explains how that reality manifests: believers renew their minds to the truth of the gospel, to everything Jesus accomplished on their behalf in fulfilling the Father’s will, and to their new-creation identity. They renew their minds to being one with Christ, risen with Christ, and raised to newness of life. They do not create Christ’s life through mental effort. Instead, the renewed mind agrees with the truth of what is already theirs in Him.

Leonard says that those who want healing, miraculous power, and the likeness of Jesus manifested from within should understand this as the way the transfigured life becomes visible: renew the mind to the truth, and transformation follows.

Changed by Beholding the Glory of the Lord

The third appearance of the word comes in 2 Corinthians 3:18. Leonard asks the congregation to remember that Peter, James, and John witnessed the glory of the Lord when Jesus was transfigured. Paul then speaks about believers beholding that same glory with an open face.

2 Corinthians 3:18- “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Leonard explains the open face as an unveiled face: no law, no legalism, and no mixture. Believers behold as in a glass, or mirror, the glory of the Lord displayed in the transfigured Jesus. When they look at Him, envision Him, and recognize that His life and glory are within them, they are changed into that same image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord.

The word “changed” is the third use of the Greek word that appears as “transfigured” in Mark and “transformed” in Romans.

Jesus shows what the metamorphosis looks like and what is contained within believers. Paul shows how it manifests: the mind is renewed, and the Lord is beheld with an open face. The process rests on what Jesus has done rather than on human works or effort. The Holy Spirit changes believers into the image they behold.

Leonard returns to healing as the practical result he wants the church to grasp. If the glory and miraculous power of Christ are manifested throughout the body, sickness cannot live there. That is why beholding the Lord’s glory and renewing the mind are so important. Leonard summarizes the three passages.

Mark 9:2-3- “And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.”

Romans 12:1-2- “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

2 Corinthians 3:18- “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Mark says Jesus was “transfigured.” Romans says believers are “transformed.” Second Corinthians says believers are “changed.” The same word connects the glory displayed in Jesus with the transformation Paul describes in believers.

The Glory and Resurrection Life Already Within Believers

Leonard supports the message with Jesus’ prayer in John 17:22. Jesus says He has given His followers the glory the Father gave Him so that they may be one.

John 17:22- “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.”

For Leonard, this confirms that believers are not trying to persuade God to give them glory they lack. Christ has already given it to them. The metamorphosis becomes visible through renewing and beholding.

Romans 8:30 also declares that those God predestined He called, those He called He justified, and those He justified He glorified.

Romans 8:30- “Moreover whom he did predestine, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

Leonard emphasizes the completed language: God has done it. No additional work or effort is required to make the believer accepted or glorified in Christ.

The question is how that completed reality manifests in mortal life, and his answer remains the same: renew and behold. The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in believers and gives life to their mortal bodies.

Romans 8:11- “But if the Spirit of him that raised Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”

Leonard identifies this indwelling Spirit with the power, anointing, glory, and resurrection life of God already present within each believer. To experience the metamorphosis displayed in Jesus, believers must see Christ as He was in His glory, behold that image, and recognize that in union with Him they are seeing the truth of who they are.

Leonard then wonders whether this revelation is what enables John 14:12 to become a lived reality. Jesus promised that the person who believes in Him will do the works He did and even greater works because He went to the Father.

John 14:12- “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”

As believers see the glory, supernatural ability, majesty, and power within them through Christ, renew their minds to it, and behold it as in a mirror, they are changed into that image.

Leonard believes this will enable them to do the works of Jesus and experience sickness leaving their bodies because sickness could not dwell in the body of the transfigured Christ.

Renew and Behold

Leonard closes by stressing the importance of understanding what happened when Jesus was transfigured. The same transforming life is to unfold in believers as they renew their minds to the truth and behold the Lord’s glory as in a mirror. The Word of God brings freedom and healing, so Leonard urges the congregation to meditate on these truths, pray over them, and worship God for them. He declares that as the metamorphosis unfolds from within, miracles will take place and the supernatural will become natural in Jesus’ name.

In the closing prayer, Leonard thanks God for His Word, its truth, and its simplicity. He asks the Holy Spirit to change believers into the Lord’s image through His own power and leading as they renew and behold.

2 Corinthians 3:18- “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

The prayer ends by giving God praise, honor, and glory in Jesus’ name.

We hope this article blessed you. Please share this teaching with someone who needs to see the glory of Christ, renew their mind to the truth of grace, and trust the Holy Spirit to bring that truth into visible expression in their life.